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Published by the Forest History Association of British Colurnbia

No. Twenty-nine Victoria, British Colurnbia September l-991

THE ANDERSONFAMTLY AND THE by Jan Peterson

Port Alberni may have a Spanish name but the establishment of the community is credited to the English. The original purchase of 12,000 acres of land in the Alberni Valley was to give the fanily firm of James Thompson and Co. of London, England a reliable source of timber and spars for their clipper ships.

In L855 Capt. Edward Stamp from Alnwick, Northumberland, England, arrived on the Pacific Coast to purchase lumber and spars on Puget Sound, where several nills were prospering from the California gold rush. After sailing the coast of Island, Stamp was impressed by the great forests. He returned to London where he convinced two shipping companies, Thomas Bilbe & Company and James Thompson & Company, to back him in construction of a sawmill here.

The Thornas Bilbe Co. had built rnany of the clipper ships run by the Thompsons. The Thompson company was owned by James G.S. Anderson and his brother in partnership with their cousins. The Anderson Company would become one of the great shipping fanilies of England, with major interest in the Pacific and orient Stearnship Company.

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The compani-es agreed partly because they also built ships and feared the irnpending civil war in the United States would cut off their supplies of southern pine.

In 1-859 Starnp wrote to Governor James DougJ-as expressing his desire to establish a first-class sawmill in the Colony of . He also hinted that the prospects at Puget Sound looked favourable. Douglas was anxious to see such a promising industry establ-ished in the Colony, but he had no authority from London to take over the management of Colonial lands. In spite of this, he and Stamp managed to come to an agreement. Douglas' decision was probably helped by the fact that Stamp's backers were respected and wealthy merchants in EngJ-and.

Douglas guaranteed that Stamp woul-d not have to pay for his own irnprovements, if and when these lands were placed on the market, and that the sale price would not exceed one pound per acre. Stamp agreed to make rrpermanent improvementsrr to the property before the end of 1860.

The English company received land qrants in the Albernj- Valley of 1-,750 acres for a townsite,250 acres for farmland, and 15r000 acres of timber reserve.

The site chosen for the sawmil1 was described by Gilbert Malcolm Sproat in his bookrrScenes and Studies of Savage Life:rl rrlt was an encampment of the Tseshaht Indian band near a pretty poi-nt at one side of the bay where there was a beach shaded by young trees. rt

The following year, oD June 29, L860, the schooner Meg Merrilies landed ni-ne workmen at the head of the Alberni Inlet. Next came the schooner Woodpecker with workmen and machinery for the new mil1. Capta j-n Stamp arrived on Septernber 1st aboard the Meg Merrilies skippered by Tom Tamphlet and Jeremiah (Jerry) Rogers, a New Brunswick logger. AIso accompanying them was Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, a representative for Thompson & Company in London, Enqland. Sproat, from Scotland, was only 26 years old when he was sent to keep an eye on the shipbuilding company's interests.

The Anderson mill- at Al-berni had several advantages over similar mills in Puget Sound. One was its accessibility, being situated on the outside coast of the isl-and, dllowing navigators to avoid delays in journeying in and out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Admiralty Inlet, which sometimes took a week. Another big consideration was the remoteness; there would be littLe opportunity for men to desert their ship at Alberni. There was no road access to the east coast of the island. AIso there were no port charges and it was a port of entry, dllowing vessels to sail directly to the mil1. 3-

A sma1l community with a population of approximately 200 was established surrounding the sawmill-. To supply fresh vegetables Stamp put in a farm on the far side of the Somass River on the flatland at the river/s mouth. This was named the Anderson Farm, and is now the Somass Dairy Farm. For a few years everything went well-, the harbour was a busy place with schooners arriving to load carqo for the United States, England, China, Manila, Australia and other world ports.

By 1-864 aI] the suitable trees on the tj-nber reserve had been harvested. Lack of mechanj-zation in the industry made all timber not adjacent to bodies of water inaccessible for commercial purposes. There was an attempt to get more logs from Sproat Lake by rnaking a dam at the outlet of the l-ake, which enabled them to be fl-oated down the river to the miI1. Sproat suggested Stamp had made an error in choosing Alberni as the location instead of Puget Sound. Eventually the site was abandoned. The empty nill and other buildings stood derel-ict for a number of years. However, the land granted by Douglas for the settlement remained in the possession of the Andersons in England.

On September 4, 1879 news reached Victoria that the nill buildings had been destroyed by fire. ey mid-f883, settlers began arriving in the Alberni Valley. They came by canoe up the Alberni Inlet and on foot over the Horne Lake trail. Many came from Great Britain; others from eastern , some even from Austral-ia.

In 1886 the Anderson Company decided it was time to make an effort to develop the land it owned in the Alberni Valley. With this in rnj-nd, James George Anderson, representing Anderson Anderson & Co. and Capt. George Slader, who represented Bilbe's trustees, came to Alberni to see what could be done. It was decided to lay out a smalL townsite. This became what is commonly called the Otd Townsite of Alberni.

From time to time lots were sold. Others were donated for churches, schools and other public buildings. When New Alberni began to grow, another townsite was developed to the south. It was never the intention of the company to develop two towns. on the way home from a visit to Australia, AIan G. Anderson visited Alberni and found rr...utter stagnation in the matter of settl-ement and demand for land in the Alberni District. " He recommended that in order to simplify matters in connection with the sale or lease of lots, ot making agreements, the varj-ous peopJ-e who owned the property shoul,d form themselves into a Iimited company. This was done and registered in the name of the Al-berni Land Company on May 12, 1905. Herbert Carmichael became the agent for the new company. 4-

In I9O7 the company concluded arrangements with the Esquimalt & Railway Co. (CPR) by which it would agree to extend the rail line to Alberni in consideration of recej-ving an allotment of one-fourth of the land (then consi-sting of about 2tsOO acres) for raiLway development.

When Hugh Kerr Anderson vj-sited in 191-0, one-haIf of the property, incl-uding the railway portion, had been disposed of. By this time residents of New Alberni were becoming more vocal in their dernands. They wanted more lots on the market, a bridge over CoaI Creek, a lighting system, streets upqraded, a local post office and a hospital-. Alberni too had its own demands the same things, ds wel-I as the railway station, Iand set aside for recreational purposes and free l-and to encourage industries to l-ocate there. Anderson tried to appease both sides but the decisions had to be made in London.

Sir Kenneth S. Anderson visited again j-n L9I2. By this tirne the railway had arrived and land sales were booming. But when there was talk in both communities of becoming a munj-cipality, Anderson tried to discourage it knowing ful1 well- the implications this would have on his company through taxation. The communities went ahead anyway. became a municipality in 1-91-2, Al-berni in 19L3.

The Great War intervened and soured real estate development. While the community went through a major depression j-n l-91-5, the company felt the pinch at taxatj-on time. Ultimately it was taxation that kj-I1-ed the Anderson Company's involvement here. Unable to meet the taxes on undeveloped land in both communities, it was forced into raising debentures to provide funds to prevent the land from being forfeited.

But the absence of purchasers for the land continued and the company had to reconcile j-tself to losing its title to the property. The Anderson Farm was eventually sold in 1925. The company wound up in 1930, leaving many of the sel-ected lots abandoned.

In the end, speaking of his company's involvement in Alberni's history, Colin S. Anderson said rrlt is a sad, declining end to a Iong associatj-on, but what had started as an imaginatj-ve enterprise had with time become a real burden. I'

The Anderson Company may have no association with the community we know today but it will al-ways have a place in our history. Land for West Coast General Hospital, several city ha1ls, numerous churches and schoo1s, Recreation Park, Roger Creek Park was a1l given freely to the communj-ty by the British company.

Postscript In researching the history of the Anderson Company it is noted that its records were lost during the London blitz in the Second World War. This article is based on material from the Al-berni District HistoricaL society Archi-ves. 5-

ORAL HISTORY WORKSHOPUPCOMING

On October 29th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon, the Forest History Society (based in North Carolina) and the Forest History Association of B.C. will be sponsoring an oral history workshop in the Penthouse of the Buchanan Building at UBC in Vancouver. FHABC member Dr. Peter Murphy, of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Alberta, is organizing and leading the workshop.

The workshop will focus onrrhow to do itrr - how to prepare, how to select equipment, how to transcrj-be and how to preserve the finished product.

British Columbia has an especially rich forest heritage, much of it recorded only in the minds of those who created it. At best, memories are fragile and, once lost, cannot be recovered. Come to the workshop, l-earn the skills, and join a volunteer cadre of oral historians seeking to j-nterview those with an important forest history story to teIl.

To help with the planning of this workshop, if you will be attending please send the editor a note to that effect:

John Parminter # 1 949 Pemberton Road Victoria, B.C. V8S 3R5

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REQUESTFOR TNFORMATION

I am preparing a report on the history of the Research Branch of the Briti-sh Col-umbia Forest Service. One of the most reliable information sources has been the in-service newsletters which were produced in two series. The first, which appeared under the banner of Root and Branch was produced in the L92O,s. It provides a variety of information about the Forest Branch staff at that time. ft was discontinued during the Depression.

The second series started in l-938 and continued with a few halts until 1960. The Ministry of Forests library has a complete set of this second series, but neither they nor the Provincial Archives have the full set of Root and Branch. So, this j-s an appeal to members to dust off their bookshelves to see if they have any issues of Root and Branch. Please contact me if you do I promise to return any loaned copies after having made a photocopy.

Ralph Schmidt 979 Ridgeway Street Victoria, B.C. VBX 3C2

phone:727-28IO 6-

PORT MCNEILL FOREST DTSTRTCTREUNION

The Port McNeill Reunion, 191-6 I99L, celebrating 75 years of history will be held from October lLth to 13th.

The following events have been scheduled:

Friday, October l1th

Meet and Greet Wine and Cheese Party (no host bar) From 7:00 PM at the Port McNeiIl Curling CIub

Saturday, October 12th

Open house at the Port McNeiIl Forest District Office from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. SoftbalI Tournament a1I afternoon. Dinner dance from 6:00 PM (no host bar) at the Lions HaIl.

Sunday, october 13th

Pancake breakfast from 9:30 AM to l-:00 PM at the Royal Canadian Legion. Cost to be announced.

GoIf tournarnent from 2:00 PM at the Seven Hills GoIf CIub. Green fees are S25.00.

Registration fees are $L0.00 per adult (anyone who attends the dinner). Various children's events will be arranged, and a fee of $t.Oo per child wiII cover the cost of refreshments and prizes.

Please forward registration information and fees to:

Elaine Brown c/o Port McNeiIl Forest District Ministry of Forests P.O. Box 7000 Port McNeiII, B.c. voN 2R0 Phone 956-44L6 or fax 956-3618. tr{DAT MOfiEHH.[. (FR B['ST /-

MARINE REMINISCENCES

The November L990 issue of this newsl-etter contained a request for photos of the Cherry II. In May of L946, just after finishing ny first year at UBC, I got the job of Assistant Ranger on Howe Sound. The man who had served there for several seasons prior to this was retiring and he handled my indoctrination, which took about ten days.

I can't recall his name, but he lived at Egmont, near Skookumchuck Rapids, in Sechelt Inl-et. If anyone can remember his name I would appreciate hearing frorn them. He was a nice old feIlow.

The first week we were on The Alder, dD old Assistant Ranqer boat which ran on a one-cyl-inder gas engine. We went to the Forest Service Maintenance Depot on the Fraser River and picked up the Cherry fI. f guess I was her first skipper, and I spent that summer and the next one on her.

Once I ran aground on a sunken log during an extremely l-ow tide. The tide was not quite all the way out so I ran a couple of lines to a swifter on a loq boom. Otherwise the boat would have capsized. This was in Long Bay on the south end of Garnbier Island. The tide finally came back in and fl-oated her off with no damage to the hull.

The Cherry II had a three-cy1j-nder Grey Marine (cMC) diesel- motor. She was thirty-four feet long with a ten foot beam. I understand she was sold to a private buyer a few years ago at Mackenzi-e. She must have been in service on the Will-iston Lake reservoir.

Those two summers I was working under Bob Ay1ett, the Ranger stationed at SecheIt. Charlie Haddon was the District Forester in Vancouver at the time.

Bill Gilgan P.O. Box 140 Burns Lake, B.C. VOJ ]-EO

Editor's note: Mr. cilgan provided three photos of the Cherry II in response to the request. A model boat builder is constructing a model- of the boat.

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FHABC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING A SUCCESS on June l-sth a capacity erowd enjoyed the hospital-ity of the Ministry of Forest's Cowichan Lake Research Station, a presentation on the history of the station and a walking tour.

The executive for I99L L992 is as follows:

Pres j.dent: Pit Desj ardins Past President: BiIl Young Treasurer: Edo Nyland Newsletter Editor: John Parminter Directors: BilI Backman, George Brandak, Gerry Burch, Bob DeBoo, Don Grant, Terry Honer, Dougf Little, John Murray, Clay Perry and Harry Smith.

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NEWS FROM THE MEMBERS

John Mclean wrote to teIl of the |tlink and Pin Museumrr at the Roberts Lake Resort, north of Campbell River. On display is a varied coll-ection of northern Vancouver Island memorabilia including early chainsaws, logging equipment and maps showing the Iogging railroads which operated j-n the area.

Phil Gilbert sent along a copy of the June/July I99L issue of Pioneer News, which is published by the Bank of British Columbia. In an articl-e entitl-ed rrLogging Camps and Green Bridesrr author Betty Ingram tells of l-ife in the Englewood area logging camps. The story is a delightful account of family life in remote logging camps some fifty years ago.

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This newsletter is the official organ of the Forest History Association of British Col-umbia. It is distri-buted at no charge to members of the Association, libraries, archives and museums. Items on forest history topics, descriptions of current projects, requests for information, book reviews, letters, comments and suggestions are welcomed. Please address all correspondence regarding the newsletter and changes of address to the editor: Mr. John Parminter, # 1 - 949 Pemberton Road, Victoria, B.C. V8S 3R5.

Mernbership in the Association is $7.00 yearly r oy $30 for five years. Should you wish to join or obtain further information please write to the Treasurer: Mr. Edo Nyland, 8793 Forest Park Drj-ve, Si-dney, B. C. V8L 4E8. The President, ML. Pit Desjardins, can be reached at 6252 McCtaorv Qfroal- VanCOUVer, B.C. V6N LG4.